The prior art pertinent to the present invention is represented by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,359,145, Salyer et al., issued Dec. 19, 1967; 3,475,213, Stow, issued Oct. 28, 1969; 3,846,345, Mason et al., issued Nov. 5, 1974; 3,867,315, Tigner et al., issued Feb. 18, 1975; 3,919,122, Tigner, issued Nov. 11, 1975; 3,983,075, Marshall et al., issued Sept. 28, 1976; 4,093,563, Eaton, issued June 6, 1978; 4,113,981, Fujita et al., issued Sept. 12, 1978.
Stow discloses an electrically conductive adhesive tape wherein the adhesive layer contains electrically conductive particles, including aluminum, having a diameter approximately the same as the thickness of the adhesive layer and which may be spherical in shape and in volume approximately 0.1 to 40% of the volume of the adhesive.
Fujita et al. disclose an electrically conductive adhesive containing conductive particles of metal which are spherical in shape. Eaton is of interest for a discussion noting that spherical metal particles, including aluminum, may be placed in polymers to produce a highly conductive material. The remaining patents are of interest in that they relate to electrically conductive adhesives.
None of the above prior art disclosures, nor any prior art so far as is known, contemplates the application of a conductive adhesive in or adjacent a highly volatile environment, such as, for example, the fuel tank of a vehicle. Nor does the known prior art envision the degree of electrically conductive metallic particle concentration in a non-electrically-conductive adhesive binder as herein proposed in a high structural assembly.